Saturday, May 01, 2004

Not so independent schools

Private and public schools would be forced to take students who cannot afford to pay fees under radical changes being floated by the State Government.

If such a policy goes ahead it will violate the independence of private schools. Such schools should be able to select students according to their own standards and values.

As it is, most private schools do offer scholarships to academically gifted students who can't afford to pay full fees. They do this, though, on selection criteria they think best, and not under government directions.